Clive Edwards explains how to increase your stock of azaleas
THERE are two main ways to increase your stock of azaleas as there are with most plants – by seed and by cuttings.
Raising azaleas from seed is a lengthy business and unless you are interested in hybridising them, it’s only worthwhile with the few true species. Reproducing by cuttings is easy and much quicker.
Take cuttings in late summer when the new wood is semi-ripe, then it can be bent over but will not snap until it’s been bent almost double.
Cut lengths of healthy shoots about 2-3in (7.5cm) long and trim away the lower leaves.
Use a rooting medium, a half and half mixture by volume of moss peat and lime free sharp sand. Spread the mixture in a container to which a more or less airtight, translucent cover can be fitted – a flowerpot with a plastic bag tied over it will do fine.
Dip the bases of the cuttings in a hormone rooting powder and push them gently into the rooting medium. Seal the container and stand it in a well lit spot out of direct sunlight, a cold frame outdoors would be ideal.
Don’t allow the cuttings to dry out. Most azaleas will root within about three months.
Layering also works well and is the easiest method of all. Simply select a low-growing shoot or branch and anchor it into the soil with a wooden peg held down with stones. Remember where you made the layer as it may take up to two years to root. When it has rooted, sever it cleanly from the parent plant and treat it like a mature plant.
There are a number of vacant allotment plots at Greenway Road, Rumney, Cardiff. Anyone interested in taking on a plot should contact Parks Services 029 2068 4000.
Question time
Which seeds can I collect to store and use in cooking?
Those of dill, fennel, lovage and coriander are worth gathering at the end of the flowering season. Dill and fennel seeds are widely used in pickles, coriander in bread and curries and lovage in soups, bread, biscuits and cakes. As soon as the flower heads show signs of becoming brown, make daily inspections of them. Gently turn the flower heads upside down and shake them over an open bag.The seeds will fall out when dry.
I want a rose hedge about 4-5ft (1.2-1.5m) high. Which variety should I choose?
There is a wide choice. Most of the more vigorous varieties, in particular those listed below, can be used for hedges. For a 4ft (1.2m) hedge you can choose between large-flowered and cluster-flowered hybrids, modern shrubs, hybrid perpetuals, hybrid musks and some species which have attractive rose hips.
If you want a hedge that will flower through the whole season, choose the large-flowered or cluster-flowered hybrids. Whichever type you choose, space the roses 2ft (600mm) apart, taking care that the bud joint is 1in (30mm) above the surface. After planting, prune back to 6in (150mm) above ground level.
Feed regularly in spring with a proprietary rose fertiliser and spray during the spring and summer with an all purpose insecticide and fungicide. From the first year of growth, prune with secateurs in autumn and early spring to maintain the hedge shape and size.
Roses for hedging:
Queen Elizabeth – clear pink,
Iceberg – white,
Anne Harkness – yellow,
Chinatown – bright yellow.
Did you know?
We came from the earth, we return to the earth, and in between we garden.
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